what if we trade gray at the deadline to a team with cap space for something like a 2nd rounder, wouldn't that bring us under the cap?

We could. But who would take him? And typically, when a team is looking to dodge the tax, they get scammed out of assets to drop that salary. In all likelihood, we'd have to send a couple 2nds or maybe Acy their way as well. Better to just amnesty Linas or find a bigger trade where we happen to decrease salary, rather than pay the price for a salary dump.